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OUR COLLECTION OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BOOKS

Bigelow, John, The Life of Benjamin Franklin – From His Own Writings or Written by Himself. “Now first edited from original manuscripts and from his printed correspondence and other writings.” Hardbound, published in two volumes by J.B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, 1874.

Bowen, Catherine Drinker, The Most Dangerous Man in America – Scenes From the Life of Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound with dust jacket, 274 pages, An Atlantic Monthly Press Book, Little Brown and Company, Boston and Toronto, stated first edition, 1974.

Clark, Ronald W., Benjamin Franklin A Biography. Hardbound with dust jacket, 530 pages, 16 pages of illustrations, extensive references, bibliography, and index, Castle Books, a division of Book Sales Inc., 2004, Edison, New Jersey, distributed by Barnes & Noble Books.

By the editors of Country Beautiful, The Most Amazing American – Benjamin Franklin – His Life and Words. Hardbound, 160 pages, beautifully illustrated with a chronology. Printed by Country Beautiful Corp., Waukesha, Wisconsin, copyright 1973.

Daugherty, James, Poor Richard illustrated with lithographs in two colors by the author (highlights of Benjamin Franklin’s life). Hardbound with dust jacket, signed by the author, 159 pages, New York the Viking Press, 1941.

Dray, Philip, Stealing God’s Thunder – Benjamin Franklin’s Lightning Rod and the Invention of America. This book is a study of Franklin as a scientist. Softbound with a few illustrations, 279 pages, published by Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York, 2005.

Fay, Bernard, Bernard Fay’s Franklin, The Apostle of Modern Times. Hardbound with dust jacket, illustrated, 547 pages, published in Boston by Little, Brown, and Company, 1929.

Fay, Bernard, Bernard Fay’s The Two Franklins – Fathers of American Democracy. This book is about Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Franklin Bache. Hardbound, 397 pages, illustrated with fold-out map. Published in Boston by Little, Brown, and Company, 1933.

Fisher, Sidney George, The True Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound, 369 pages, published by J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1899.

Fleming, Thomas, The Man Who Dared the Lightening – A New Look at Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound with dust jacket, 532 pages illustrated, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1971.

 

Ford, Paul Leicester, Franklin Bibliography – A List of Books Written by or Related to Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound, 467 pages, published by Burt Franklin, New York, N.Y. Originally published Brooklyn: 1886, Reprinted 1968.

Ford, Paul Leicester, The Many-Sided Franklin. Hardbound, illustrated, 516 pages. The Century Co., New York, 1899, The De Vinne Press.

Ford, Paul Leicester, The Sayings of Poor Richard – The Prefaces, Proverbs, and Poems of Benjamin Franklin “Originally printed in ‘Poor Richard’s Almanacs’ for 1733-1758 – collected and edited by Paul Leicester Ford.” Hardbound, 288 pages plus ads, The Knickerbocker Press, New York electrotyped, printed, and bound by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, no date.

Franklin, Benjamin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – “and a sketch of Franklin’s life from the point where the autobiography ends drawn chiefly from his letters – with notes and a chronological historical table.” From The Riverside Literature Series, Houghton Mifflin Company, printed by The Riverside Press, Cambridge, copyright 1886 and 1896, hardbound, 253 pages plus 2 pages of advertising.

Franklin, Benjamin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Includes his primary outline and introduction by Carl Van Doren. Hardbound, collector’s edition, 233 pages, nicely illustrated, printed by The Easton Press, Norwalk, Connecticut, 1976.

Franklin, Benjamin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – Poor Richard’s Almanac, and Other Papers. Hardbound, 308 pages plus ads, A.L. Burt Company, Publishers, New York, no date.

Franklin, Benjamin, The Autobiography – and Other Writings. This is a book from “The Collection of Biography and Autobiography – New American Library.” Hardbound, 271 pages, New American Library, New York, stated first printing, 1985.

Franklin, Benjamin, Father Abraham’s Speech or The Way to Wealth. Hardbound, 14 pages, printed for the American Philosophical Society by The Stinehour Press, Lunenburg, Vermont, 2000.

Franklin, Benjamin, Poor Richard’s Almanack. “BEING the choicest Morsels of Wisdom, written during the Years of the Almanack’s Publication. By that well-known Savant, Dr. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN of Philadelphia.” “Published in Mount Vernon, New York, at the Sign of the PETER PAUPER PRESS, with numerous quaint Cuts by an Unknown Hand” Hardbound with dust jacket, 77 pages, with a foreword or introduction by Paul Leicester Ford, no date.

Franklin, Benjamin, Poor Richard’s Almanacks – Illustrated by Norman Rockwell. Hardbound with dust jacket, 300 pages. Presented here is a comprehensive collection of the texts of all the editions of Poor Richard’s Almanacks with an introduction written by Van Wyck Brooks. Norman Rockwell’s illustrations consist of six full-color oil paintings and forty-nine line drawings. Published by Bonanza Books, New York, 1979.

Franklin, Benjamin, and Montgomery, D.H., and Trent, W.P. (introduction), The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – With Questions, Notes, and a Continuation of His Life. Illustrated by Thornton Oakley, hardbound, 292 pages, The Athenaeum Press – Ginn and Company Proprietors, Boston, 1927.

Franklin, Benjamin, and Montgomery, D.H., and Trent, W.P. (introduction), Benjamin Franklin His Life – Written by Himself. “Condensed for school use, with notes and a continuation of his life by D.H. Montgomery with an introduction by W.P. Trent.” Hardbound, 311 pages plus ads, The Athenaeum Press – Ginn and Company Proprietors, Boston, 1906.

Hubbard, Elbert, Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Americans – Benjamin Franklin. Softcover magazine, vol. 27 – no. I – January, 1911 – Elbert Hubbard editor and publisher. “Written by Elbert Hubbard and done into a Book by The Roycrofters at their Shop at East Aurora, New York, mcmxi.” Softcover, 19 pages with a portrait insert. (Single Copies 10 cents By the Year $1.00)

Isaacson, Walter, Benjamin Franklin – An American Life. Hardbound with dust jacket, 590+ pages, illustrated, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2003.

Keyes, Nelson Beecher, Ben Franklin – An Affectionate Portrait. Hardbound with dust jacket, 318 pages, published by Hanover House, Garden City, New York, 1956.

Lopez, Claude-Anne and Herbert, Eugenia W., The Private Franklin – The Man and His Family. Hardbound with dust jacket, 366 pages, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1975.

Michaels, Sidney, Ben Franklin In Paris (a play). Play and lyrics by Sidney Michaels, music by Mark Sandrich, Jr. Hardbound with dust jacket, 126 pages, Random House, New York, 1965.

Morgan, Edmund S., Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound with dust jacket, illustrated, 340 pages, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2002.

Newsweek, edited by Thomas Fleming, The Founding Fathers – Benjamin Framklin – A Biography in His Own Words – Volume 1. Hardbound with dust jacket, 208 pages, illustrated – Joan Paterson Kerr picture editor. S. Arthur Dembner, Publisher, copyright 1972 by Newsweek, Inc.

No Author given, Benjamin Franklin – Apostle of Thrift and Frugality. Softcover, 16 pages, published by John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, Boston, 1933.

No author given, The Young American’s Library – Life of Benjamin Franklin. “Embracing anecdotes illustrative of his character with illustrations.” Hardbound, 208 pages plus ad pages, stereotyped by J. Fagan, published in Philadelphia, by Lindsay & Blakiston, 1846.

Nolan, J. Bennett, General Benjamin Franklin – The Military Career of a Philosopher. Hardbound, 101 pages, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1936.

O’Toole, G.J.A., FICTION – A Novel – Poor Richard’s Game. Hardbound with dust jacket, 309 pages, stated first printing, Delacorte Press, New York, 1982.

Randall, Willard Sterne, A Little Revenge – Benjamin Franklin and His Son. Hardbound with dust jacket, 558 pages, stated first edition, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1984.

Schiff, Stacy, A Great Improvisation – Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, Hardbound, some illustrations, 490 pages. Henry Holt and Company New York, N.Y., first edition 2005.

Schoenbrun, David, Triumph in Paris – The Exploits of Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound with dust jacket, 420 pages, stated first edition, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1976.

Stein, R. Conrad, Benjamin Franklin – Inventor, Statesman, and Patriot. Hardbound, 69 pages, illustrated, compliments of the Disabled American Veterans. It has a large folded paper insert that has further illustrations, captions, and a map of the Gulf Stream with text by B. Franklin. Printed by Rand McNally & Company, U.S.A., 1972.

Time Books, Time Inc., edited by Richard Lacayo, Benjamin Franklin – An Illustrated History of His Life and Times. Hardbound with dust jacket, lavishly illustrated, 128 pages, published and copyright in 2010 by Time, Inc.

Turzak, Charles with text by Florence Turzak, Benjamin Franklin A Biography in Wood Cuts. The pages are not numbered. This is number 1469 of 1550 copies, signed by the artist Charles Turzok. Hardbound, the woodcuts are black and white, 1935, published by Covici – Friede, New York, and the number/signature page says: This first edition has been printed from electrotype reproductions of the original blocks by J. J. Little and Ives Company, New York on Warren’s olde style laid paper.

Van Doren, Carl, Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound with dust jacket, 845 pages, stated first edition after the limited edition, The Viking Press, New York, 1938.

Van Doren, Carl, Carl Van Doren, The Viking Portable Library. Hardbound with dust jacket, 628 pages, printed by The Viking Press, New York, 1945. It has a 126-page section on Benjamin Franklin, taken from his book Benjamin Franklin. He includes: “Electrician in Pennsylvania”; “Philosopher in England”; and “Sage in France”.

Weems, M.L., The Life of Benjamin Franklin “with many choice anecdotes and admirable sayings of this great man, never before published by any of his biographers.” Hardbound, 239 pages plus 9 pages of ads, stereotyped by L Johnson, published by Uriah Hunt & Son, Philadelphia, 1845.

Wood, Gordon S., The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. Hardbound with dust jacket, illustrated, 299 pages, published by The Penguin Press, New York, 2004.

All of the newspapers and newspaper articles and ads shown on this page, and throughout this website, are listed on our Newspapers, Pennsylvania Page and Newspapers, Non-Pennsylvania Page.

This is a Centennial “Fac-simile of the first Paper ever issued by Franklin, now re-printed in the Centennial year 1876, by McLean & Sons, 1006 F St., Washington, D.C. .. Copyright, 1876 by McLean & Sons.” They even used the correct paper, to make this as close to the original issue as possible.

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